Eels star Isaiah Papali’i’s push for a backflip from his $1.9 million Tigers deal has taken a new turn with reports he is also eyeing a return to the Warriors.
Papali’i expressed concern over his deal with the Tigers after sacking Michael Maguire, while the Eels have upped their bid in a bid to retain his services, but a potential return to the Warriors is the latest development in his contract saga
“Isaiah Papali’i signed a contract with Michael Maguire in charge of the Tigers and now, with Madge not there, he’s certainly not committed,” Braith Anasta told NRL 360.
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“There is speculation about whether he will go or stay. It has not been convincing.”
Paul Kent believes the link with a return to the Warriors is a sign Papali’i is trying to make sure he doesn’t end up at the Tigers at all costs.
“It hasn’t been convincing,” Kent said.
“Not only has he floated earlier this year that he wants to stay at Parramatta, but it’s also come out now that he’s looking for a return to the Warriors, which is interesting.”
However, Dave Riccio of The Daily Telegraph believes the Warriors links negate the reason he wanted to move back to the Tigers in the first place.
“This is not going to end because the Warriors are the only club offering space for Papali’i to get out of the contract because it’s the only feasible reason he could use, which is for personal reasons because his girlfriend still lives in New . Zealand,” Riccio said.
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Isaiah Papali’I wants out of his deal with the Tigers. Source: Getty Images
“That’s not the reason he wants to leave the Tigers. The reason he wants to leave the Tigers is because he wants to stay at Parramatta.
“Their angst isn’t with . . . it’s not about going home to the Warriors and New Zealand. It’s about staying at Parramatta.”
However, Kent believes that if the Warriors could meet his financial demands, then he could also return to the Warriors for family reasons and leave both the Eels and Tigers in the lurch.
“That’s true, but what if the Warriors come in with a late bid now?” Kent asked.
“Or is it about not going to the Tigers?”
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Isaiah Papali’I wants to stay at the Eels. Source: News Corp Australia
Paul Crawley believes Papali’i can only be blamed for signing with the Tigers, who have a history of sacking coaches.
“If he has any angst, it should be with him and his management,” Crawley said.
“He signed with the Tigers. He signed with a club that changes coaches almost every year.
“He took the big money that was on offer. Yes Michael Maguire was the manager, but the Tigers have gone through four managers in the last 10 years. It shouldn’t be a big surprise.
“The Tigers have to stay in this.”
However, Paul Kent and Braith Anasta pointed out that sometimes the manager is the main reason why players sign with clubs.
“The players sign with the coaches,” Kent said.
“My view on this is different because when I first heard this I thought he should not honor his contract,” Anasta said.
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“Then I thought about it myself and found myself in a very similar situation.
“It was the Tigers but it could have been any club, where I signed for this club and Tim Sheens was the manager.
“He signed me for a specific reason. He wanted something from me in terms of leadership and management with a few players there and he sold me.
“He was the coach and the Australian coach and I wanted to play with Tim Sheens. That was the only reason I signed. The only reason I signed.
“Then he was sacked a few weeks later. I fulfilled the contract but now I look back and think it was a bad decision on my part.
“If my time had passed, it would have been in the best interest for me and the club not to go because it wasn’t the right fit.
“He was taking hits, which is one thing, but what I’m trying to say is if he doesn’t want to go there and he only went there because a coach wanted him to play a specific role. in that team.
“Sometimes the motivation is only due to the coach.
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“But if he’s involved the Warriors, that’s pissing off because to me he’s just saying, I don’t want to go to the Tigers.”
Kent believes the Tigers are being hypocritical for Papali’i to break his contract when they broke Michael Maguire’s by sacking him.
“The other side of the Tigers is that when they signed him (Papali’i), they had Michael Maguire as a contracted coach,” Kent said.
“They are happy to fire Maguire and break that contract, which then breaks the terms or the understanding that was in place with Papali’i.”
Regardless, Kent believes Papali’i’s inability to fully commit to the Tigers means the club must act quickly to secure its own interests.
“Even yesterday when he spoke and he was very non-committal and at one point he said, look, I’m going to wait until November and sort this out,” Kent said.
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“Now the Tigers have every right to say wait, you’ve got to find out what’s going on.
“They have a salary cap to manage. They can’t sit there and wait for this guy until November.”
Riccio believes the Tigers are better off cutting their losses with Papali’i because he is clearly not committed to the new vision for the club’s future under Tim Sheens and Benji Marshall.
“That’s why the Tigers should go ahead and use Papali’i’s money before it’s too late,” Riccio said.
“If they wait until November, they won’t be able to use their money.
“The Tigers are at a critical time in their history. This is a turning point for Tim Sheens’ Wests Tigers club and Benji Marshall’s future.
“What do we defend? What is our culture? Who do we want here? That’s all I’ve heard about how it’s going to be with Sheens and Marshall. We want players who want to represent the Wests Tigers and want to be there.
“We heard Isaiah Papali’i say once: Can’t wait to get to the West Tigers?”